Bromwell Elementary SchoolFebruary 25, 2009, 3:30pm
Collaborative School Committee MeetingMinutes
1)Announcements
a)Class-size relief .5 allocation was awarded by DPS Feb 20
b)Mile High Teacher for Bromwell = Cis Campbell
2)Introductions: Dan Fuhrman, Shannon Fitzgerald, John Kechriotis, Beth Biggs, Jeanne Kaplan
3)Residency Presentation – John Kechriotis, DPS General Counsel
a)Process of reviewing residency – entire school was reviewed; acknowledged that this was not well-managed in past years
b)Students who are already choiced in were not reviewed since they’re assured enrollment; that left roughly two-thirds of student body to review
c)City’s property database cross-referenced with school directory, white pages, transportation database, documentation in school files
d)Families have received letters stating updated documentation is needed; if they cannot or do not, they must apply to Choice to stay at Bromwell; this consists of 30-35 students but there is NO way to predict how many won’t be able to verify
i)These forms can be used going forward to validate addresses for future applicants to Bromwell
e)Anticipate being able to give a number of students per grade level who are found to be out of neighborhood, once the affidavit deadline has passed
f)Exception list by grade level, thru Feb 23: 14 students total
g)Trends to keep in mind
i)Families increasingly staying in Denver through school years rather than moving to suburbs
ii)8 elementary schools have been closed in the last 2 years
iii)Economic downturn
h)Next year’s kindergartners – District should use this vigorous process to validate those applicants
4)Choice Process Presentation – Dan Fuhrman: Director of PlanningDepartment
a)Definition of Choice: round 1 ended Jan 31; round 2 starts Mar 2 through end of school
b)Round 1: lottery number assigned, so order of application does not matter
c)Priority levels
i)Current Bromwell students
ii)Neighborhood residents who left Bromwell and want to come back
iii)Siblings of current Bromwell student
iv)No Child Left Behind – not applicable to Bromwell
v)Other students within District
vi)Other students outside District with sibling at Bromwell
vii)Other students outside District
d)Approvals and waitlist letters going out next week! Bromwell’s will be held until CSC has weighed in on all of this
e)Round 2: first come first served basis, but all Round 1 kids have priority over all Round 2 kids
f)CSC is being asked to recommend how to handle children from this residency review who do NOT file affidavits proving residency
i)What level priority and what Round of Choice?
g)Superintendent will make ultimate decision and is likely to rely on CSC recommendation
5)Clarifying questions
a)Is it possible to grandfather in all students currently enrolled? John K. says integrity of Choice process is important, so those people still need to fill out Choice paperwork and be designated true Choice students if CSC chooses to grandfather them in
b)Can different grade levels be treated differently? Yes
c)Does Choice take behavior/grades into account? No
d)Will all parents have to fill out these forms every year? Up to CSC; District is pondering policy as well
e)Special education kids – exception list has 23 kids – 9 of those are special ed, which has its own process; are the special ed kids included in next year’s projections? Dan says yes they are
f)Are center-based kids’ siblings same as level 3 of choice? Dan says yes
6)Public Comment (please limit to 3 minutes)
a)Overenrollment of current K/1 is the only reason we have this problem; fix that, and we’re all set; disagreement over what “overenrollment” means; Beth says 25-26 is ideal at primary grade levels
b)Is our current 110% capacity measure a reflection of budget? No, it’s a measure of physical space
c)Why would we accept Choice at all at a grade level like 1st with 63 projected kids?
d)Economy’s impact and general turmoil – making a decision on classroom structure is impossible, split may or may not be needed
e)Is the 1/2 split a done deal? Allocations are approved, but further review is a possibility
f)Parents need to be accountable for their decisions if they have falsified addresses; we need to stand up for what’s right
g)Can we keep our current Specials programs with 26 kids per classroom?
h)Can we fund smaller class sizes through direct giving, new forms of fundraising?
i)The need for transparency – frustration builds when things aren’t transparent
i)Concern that Scenario #2 was the one chosen when it appeared to NOT be supported at parent constituent meetings
j)Wisdom of waiting on ALL Choice decisions until school year has begun – met with lots of nods
k)Suggestion that kids doing Choice Round 1 the correct way should be given higher priority and not be mixed in with families filing for Choice after failing to prove residency
l)Feeling that 1st/2nd split is no longer needed – CSC should reconsider budget decision
m)Jon’s concern that the spirit of these discussions is spilling over to our kids and turning them against each other – we all need to be MORE CAUTIOUS as to how we discuss this in our community
n)Desire to make sure CSC has real numbers if possible, namely after Friday close of affidavit statistics; Jon suspects many of the 30+ kids will fill out Choice paperwork
o)Jon makes motion that CSC say this: all families filling out Choice as part of the residency inquiry be put into Round 1 but with priority below the first level (current students) – so, a level of 1.5 or 3.5, or 5?
i)Put another way, these students could be placed in a “Round 1.5” of Choice
p)Concern that 3 CSC members are missing and thus unable to vote today
q)Jon stated that “Everybody who is enrolled here belongs here” – may need clarification
r)Feeling that any form of grandfathering or special treatment is completely unfair to those who are following the rules
s)Has it been explicity or implicitly told to families that “once you’re in, you’re in”? If so, it is unfair to make them follow the actual rules?
t)Regarding those who falsified addresses: is there a way to penalize ONLY the parents, allowing students to stay in school?
u)RESOLVED: vote will be deferred until next week; discussion of getting another forum for parent feedback; also desire to reconsider budget scenarios under different numbers
v)RESOLVED: Mar 2 evening meeting for parent constituency meeting
w)RESOLVED: CSC to meet again Mar 4
7)Adjourn
Next (NEWLY) scheduled meeting: Wednesday, March 4, 3:30pm
- If any member does not expect to be able to attend the meeting, please call or email Jon Wolfer in advance.
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